Present and past: Here's part of a collage of photos of all things Lansing in the new MLive Media Group hub downtown. What's changed in the city in the past five years?File photos

When I left Lansing in October 2007, it was a pretty bleak place to me.

My partner, Creole Gallery owner Robert Busby, had been murdered early in the year. Many of my friends were out of work as the area’s top employers - General Motors, MSU and the state of Michigan - tightened their belts. Mid-year, the city lived in fear as Lansing police tracked a serial killer suspected in the deaths of six women.

And my workplace in Lansing was being downsized, so I took a job transfer that October to the Grand Rapids Press.

During the past six years, I had kept in touch with my amazing Lansing friends, but I'd also come to love the vibrancy of Grand Rapids. I thought I’d bought my last house, and was happy to settle in as a West Michigander.

I’ll never learn. Here I am back in Lansing, starting my third week as editor of the MLive Media Group hub downtown. I’m buying what may be my last house, and it’s a kick to be back.

But as with any move to new digs, I'm still finding my footing. What’s changed since I left? Is the city more stable? Are people more optimistic?

With a little help, I gathered seven people at our downtown hub last week to start what may be a series of discussions with leaders in mid-Michigan. Some of these people I knew, some I'd never met. I asked each to talk four minutes on how they view the city. I didn’t say it had to be positive or negative.

It was a wide-ranging discussion that produced plenty of story ideas. But here’s a quick summary of what was said.

Racha Kardahji, an immigrant from Dubai, is an Old Town advocate who is account services director at Redhead Design Studio. Her enthusiasm for Lansing shines through, which may explain why she's working toward becoming a U.S. citizen. What does she love about this area? There is no shortage of people willing to work to improve the quality of life, rather than sit around and complain about it, Kardahji says.“They are the ‘theys’ in the conversation. People say: ‘Someone needs to open this, or THEY should do this’ … well, the people around this table I know are those people. They are the people who believe so much in Lansing. That is the finest trend we have.“

Tom Ruis, commercial banker at Independent Bank, said Lansing is an easy city for building social and professional networks. He started doing so by attending Grand River Connection, and before he knew it, he was the president. He loves that he can walk into a restaurant and know four or five people. And he’s excited by the city’s attitude toward business development:“The Knapp's building is being redone, and vacancy in downtown Lansing is really low – that’s got to be different from 2007. There’s been big support for business growth, whether it be from the mayor, business owners around town, banks in general – there’s been more of an appetite to support business.”

Betsy Miner-Swartz, former Lansing State Journal metro editor and now communications specialist with Gift of Life, read an entire list of positive changes since 2007, including “a way more vibrant downtown,” the Accident Fund in the in the old BWL plant, new bike lanes, the #lovelansing movement, a new City Market, the Lansing Marathon, better nightlife after 5 p.m., a longer river trail and a roller derby team. But what does Lansing need? “We’re still not fully using the river. We’re like a river town that has this river and the closest we can get to it is at the City Market with an outdoor patio that’s a half a football field away. There’s untapped potential there, along with a destination restaurant or two. But the bottom line is we’ve come so far ... The potential is freaking ginormous.”

Chad Badgero, Peppermint Creek Theater founder and now arts education program manager with the Michigan Council for the Arts and Cultural Affairs, left Lansing for New York City. He returned after realizing here’s where he could make a difference. “It’s only from going and coming back that I realized why Lansing is so great. There is a lot of theater and a lot of places to eat in New York City, but I was very nameless there and I didn’t have a lot opportunity to do something on my own or have my voice heard, and that’s what I value most about Lansing. There are so many opportunities. For people who have an idea, the attitude is, well, go ahead and try it.”

Rob Jenkins, a Lansing attorney and budding stand-up comedian (last week he took third in the Funniest Person in Grand Rapids comedy contest), jolted me with his observations. As a Detroit native who’s lived in other urban areas, he waxed poetic about how Lansing’s sense of safety and city services were so valuable to him. He'd heard mentions about crime and the divided city council, and said, “What you say about crime here? That was TUESDAY when I was growing up in Detroit.” He doesn’t mind the bickering of city council members; he gets worried when the discussion dies. Most of all, he likes the rainbow in Lansing.“This is by far the most diverse place I’ve ever lived. And I’m not just talking racially. I’m talking about education level, income level … culturally, it’s a very, very unique place. I can’t think of any place not only in Michigan but the Midwest where you have a capital with a university and a very active manufacturing sector. When you combine those three things, those three different areas will bring tons of different people together. My neighborhood is extremely diverse.”

All four of these folks helped me see Lansing in a new, and renewed, light. Tom’s comments reminded me of how welcoming I found Lansing when I first moved here in 1990, and Racha spurred my memory of the city’s wonderful grass-roots nature. Betsy very clearly listed things that didn’t exist when I left, and Rob helped me see the positives of some things I perceived as negatives.

But every group has its skeptics, right? Those often are the people who love the city most, and want it to be better. We had two at this gathering:

Thomas Stewart, a Neo Center founder, entrepreneur and Greater Lansing Chamber of Commerce board member, said he has a relationship with Lansing that he can’t shake. He ran for City Council and lost, but as he pounded the pavement in South Lansing, he realized there was a disconnect with residents there compared to other wards. He wondered how they could be encouraged to get more involved in the city’s future. He also wished that people who become wealthy in mid-Michigan would target their philanthropy to help the core city. “We’re not (Grand Rapids). We don’t have the seven families that are giving. We have the wealth here, we don’t have the same kind of commitment to giving that wealth back to the community. We need to have a conversation about that: Why that doesn’t happen, where that money is going, how it’s being spent and where the disconnects are.”

Robin Miner-Swartz, a former Lansing State Journal entertainment editor and now Vice President of Communications for the Capital Region Community Foundation, loves the hefty calendar of events that Lansing offers. But she too often sees the same people supporting and working at the events. She’s ready for the next generation to step up – but are they out there, and is the current group of ready to give up some control and welcome them into the fold? And that goes for those in her generation as they eye seats on prestigious boards held by the “old guard.” “There isn’t a 2.0 yet – there’s a group of awesome people who are connected and excited and want to do stuff but we’re tired - because we’re doing a LOT of stuff. We know there is more to be done but we haven’t yet connected with that next group of people who want to get in and want to do things. And I know they’re out there.”

Look for columns by Thomas and Robin in the next couple weeks that will expand on their observations.

How are you feeling about Lansing today, compared to 2007? Tell me what differences you’ve detected in the past six years, good and bad. Email me at mholland@mlive.com or comment below.